Virtual Magic Kingdom: It’s a Virtual World After All

Betsy Book

Many Terra Nova readers have no doubt already heard about the impending launch of Disney’s “Virtual Magic Kingdom,” which will (re)construct several popular theme park attractions like the Haunted House and Space Mountain in a virtual MMOG environment.  This is a promotional project with the specific goal of motivating increased visits to Disney theme parks.

Naturally Ian Bogost at Watercooler Games was all over the Virtual Magic Kingdom announcement weeks ago, noting its indisputable status as high order simulation. Simulacra of simulacra.  Paging Dr. Baudrillard!  So far, less academic reactions to the Virtual Magic Kingdom have focused exclusively on the advergaming angle with the predictable controversy that accompanies any project involving games as marketing tools, especially when targeted to children.  It is unclear whether Virtual Magic Kingdom will contain blatant pitches for Disney-branded products, but from the information currently available it seems like the focus is exclusively on promoting the parks themselves, with some interesting online/offline tie-ins.  For example, kids can earn online points within Virtual Magic Kingdom that can be redeemed for head-of-the-line passes and t-shirts at a Real Magic Kingdom.  According to Ad Week, kids at the park sites can also win virtual items for their avatars. 

A few years ago I presented a paper about themes of tourism and photography in virtual worlds at a conference for Sheffield, UK-based Centre for Tourism and Culture Change.  The other conference participants hadn’t had much exposure to virtual worlds, and were intrigued by the slides I showed them of various avatars posing for “tourist photos” (screenshots) in front of virtual replicas of Egyptian pyramids and the Statue of Liberty, but some expressed concern that virtual tourist attractions might somehow replace the real sites upon which they were based.  I told them that in fact I believed precisely the opposite was true – virtual tourist experiences would be more likely to encourage RL visits to these places.  If nothing else, Virtual Magic Kingdom will be a large-scale test of this claim.

So say it works like a charm. Say kids are so inspired by their Virtual Magic Kingdom experience that they manage to convince mom and dad to book that flight to Orlando or Anaheim for this year’s family vacation.  Once they get there, how will their online experiences shape their offline experiences and vice-versa?  This is where it really gets interesting, IMO.

One thing I like about the concept of a Virtual Magic Kingdom is that it has the potential to offer kids a more active/interactive experience.  My memories of visiting Disney theme parks as a child include waiting on long lines, sitting in various moving trolleys and boats, being told to keep my hands and feet inside the vehicle, and passively consuming various theatrical, animatronic shows.  Sure it was fun, but it didn’t necessarily require my active engagement with any of the performances.  My childhood memories of Disney theme park visits are a sharp contrast to Mizuko Ito’s descriptions of the “media mixes” children experience today in their engagement with anime franchises like Yu-gi-oh! and Pokemon: 

These media mixes challenge our ideas of childhood agency and the passivity of media consumption, highlighting the active, entrepreneurial, and technologized aspects of children’s engagement with popular culture.

While the Virtual Magic Kingdom will offer a somewhat more individualized, interactive approach to the same thematic material covered in their theme parks, I wonder just how far they’ll be willing to take it.  Will kids be able to make any sort of creative contributions to Virtual Magic Kingdom or will it just be a more accessible, game-themed translation of theme park material?  Will this do anything to help change the Disney theme park experience itself from passive to active?  If Virtual Magic Kingdom is a smash hit precisely because of the new interactive element, could it ironically backfire as a longer-term promotional effort when the corresponding RL experience doesn’t allow the same level of interactivity?   

In a USA Today article about Virtual Magic Kingdom, Jay Rasulo, the president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts is quoted as saying, “We hope it becomes a real hangout for preteens and teens.” (emphasis mine).   Interesting usage of the word real.  It reminds me of Coca-Cola’s use of “make it real” as a tagline for its own promotional teen virtual world.  This is surely more proof that the line between virtual and real is becoming extremely fuzzy nowadays, particularly for the under-18 crowd.  Changing realities indeed. 

One more thought. Be careful what you wish for, Mr. Rasulo.  Kids and teens visiting a theme park for a day or two with parental supervision is one thing, but kids and teens “hanging out” regularly in a virtual world, presumably without constant parental accompaniment is quite another.  Something tells me they may not always keep their hand and feet inside their virtual vehicles.